Lizzie11
Elisabeth Murrell Joined: March 20th 2006
Logged in: August 20th 2008
Logged in: August 20th 2008
Okay, basically this year i'm travelling. I've started here in boston cos i have a mate here to stay with and when you want to go everywhere, you really have no other critera to base the "where to first" descision on. Well that's how i felt anyway. I've a got a working visa for canada, so that's where i'm headed after the US. I'll be in europe for part of the summer as well.
That's pretty much it, hope you all enjoy my blogs!
Travel Blog Posts
The first photo i took
Back on the bus, but this one of I was looking forward to. Usually I chew through books like mm's when I am on a bus, or I spend hours listening to the music watching the scenery half dosing the whole time. But this time I was more like a wide-eyed chip monk, watching the Rockies. This particular drive is famous as being one of the most beautiful. It was nothing short of, spectacular, breath taking, beautiful, captivating, fascinating, astonishing, magnificent, intimidating, lovely, amazing, take your pick or all of the above. It was wonderful in that it was constantly changing. The mountains rise and fall, the clouds blanket the mountains in some places, just delicately wrap them in others, or in others completely disappear. The snow simply dusts the very tops of some mountains, ... read more
banff banff, mountains, more banff
Banff North America » Canada » Alberta » Banff » Norquay By Lizzie11 April 20th 2007 Elisabeth Murrellok so i am in banff and it is so beautiful here. Yesterday i got taken all over the mountain on all the snow board and ski runs on a skidoo by my mate and it was increidble. it's not too cold and so much fun - and it beats a jet ski hands down, the snow is so much more fun. I am about to get taught how to snow board. I will let you know how it goes. These are not my photo's but i wanted to show you wher... read more
Getting back to Toronto was pretty interesting. It took a bit of getting used to after being away for so long. I arrived at 6 in the morning, post 6 hours on the bus, still reasonably hung over from the night before. My last night in Quebec had been beer with two Quebecois in a very French bar with very French music and lots of drinking. I had been to this bar over the summer and it was wicked to be there again, in this quaint little place that is located down an alley off an alley from a street in a very European looking alley way, and sitting there in the warm with a beer and the snow whipping around outside. I have been here for two months and in the two months I slept ... read more
My last couple of nights in Vancouver were more than a little ridiculous and loads of fun. After cramming everything into my pack in record time and actually leaving to catch the bus to the airport early (Who me? Yeah I know) I climbed onto the plane and embraced the feeling of once again being completely in transit. It is one of my favourite things of traveling, when you are mid air and you’re not permanently located in any one place, and completely in limbo, it’s the greatest feeling. Actually getting to Quebec was a wee bit of an ordeal in that it involved a transfer in Toronto, and then a 45 minute wait for the bus from Montréal, which stopped downtown Montréal for another hour before finally going to Quebec. I successfully managed to get ... read more
So I left Chicago at Midnight on Monday night (well, tuesday morning if you must). 9 hours later, 6 spent crammed behind two large American women who, almost in unision with the start up of the bus engine, reclined their chairs and spent the entire bus ride that way, laptops out, movies playing and snacks out. It was a shame that I was travelling at night because i missed all of the American Country side which would have been nice. But!...The great thing about the Greyhound is that you get to experience very random country towns (albiet usually only for an hour at the most) that you would otherwise never get to see. Anyone been to Eau Claire, Madison, Middleton..anyone? They are pretty interesting places, a provide a little more insight, however small, to the American ... read more
First day
So, i left for Chicago with Matt and Nick at 5pm and we once again clambered onto a greyhound and endured a 12 hour bus ride. The highlight for me personally was when i had to pay $6 us dollars at the border, but had no US money on me and was consequently sent out into the very cold night (this was i think at about 12 or 1 in the morning) with fairly vague directions towards a place i could exchange my Canadian dollars for "real money". Anyway i made it through otherwise with no worries and we arrived in Chicago fairly disgruntled at 5 in the morning. What is there to do at 5 in the morning? Sit in a greyhound bus station for a couple of hours until check in. The greyhound is ... read more
The falls
So the trip down to Niagara Falls actually only takes about 2 hours and less if you're not on a Greyhound bus. I got there at about 8.30pm and after a very short yet exhausting trip from the bus stop to the hostel I ventured out to see the falls at night. They use spotlights to illuminate them from dusk until about midnight....the bright coloured spotlights that they use are, in my opinion, a little tacky but the effect is still quite impressive. So, some facts about the falls. They are the second largest falls in the world, second to Victoria Falls in Africa. 'Niagara falls' is actually made up of The American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and then the Canadian/Horseshoe falls. The American falls are 176 feet high and the brink is 1060 feet long ... read more
So I spent my last couple of days in Toronto trying to catch up with everyone and a lot of time procrastinating from doing the things that actually meant I was leaving, like packing and booking buses etc. I've actually grown quite fond of Toronto; culturally it offers an abundance of variety and has a very open and accepting feel to it. There are a lot of things that i'll miss about Toronto and I think that it is a place that I would consider living in permanent conditions in the future. The last thing I did in Toronto was my going away dinner, which was, while quite sad for me (there where no tears, give me some credit would you) a lot of fun, i was stoked that so many people made an effort to ... read more
My farewell dinner
Okay! So for all the right reasons i have decided that it is time to leave toronto. I'm really excited because, assuming money permits i am going to head through the states and then onto vancouver. But otherwise i'll head straight to vancouver. I'm going to transfer from godiva toronto to godiva vancouver which is nice because it means i'll have a job there waiting for me when i get there. I'll work there for 2 months and then i'll be back in Toronto for Christmas and New years. After that i'm heading to montreal, quebec (even though i've already been, i want to see them in snow) and then to halifax to see the east coast and Prince Edward Island. I'm very excited! So, before i leave i intend on spending alot of time telling ... read more
After 104 days, 2 nights at the Canadiana, 4 nights at Global Backpackers Village, 2 random house mates, 6 jobs (two kept, the others quit), 3 brewery tours, 1 2 minute challenge, 1 toast masters experience,1 gay pride parade, 1 brief romance with an arsehole, several thousand encounters with crazy drugged up Torontonians, 2 brief appearances on Canadian television, 1 invitation to appear on a Canadian game show (politely declined), 1 poutine, 1.5 weeks on crackers as well as street meat and 20 cent noodles because that's all I could afford, 1 trip to New Liskeard, 1 cat empire Concert, 4 trips to Toronto Island, 2 colds, 1 burst ear drum, one trip to the doctor (for the burst ear drum), one bout of food poisoning, too many hangovers, countless numbers of bohemians, Canadians, Rickards anything, ... read more
